Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)

I thank the Senators for their contributions.

I want to outline the background to this debate. I was asked what I would like to discuss if I came before the Seanad. I thought about the area of social partnership and other areas under the auspices of the Department, including health and safety, but globalisation, in the context of the labour market and the economy, is fundamental to what we are about as a nation.

I thank Members for their contributions with which I will deal individually. If I repeat some of the points made by Senators I do so because I believe the contributions made here are valuable in the context of what we are trying to achieve.

Reference was made to social partnership. I accept there may be a perceived democratic deficit in the context of social partnership but we must always remember that the Government, which is democratically elected by the people, is central to any partnership talks. Government is a partner and the honest broker in terms of what the social partnership model is about. That model arose primarily out of a desperation in the late 1980s — Members will be aware what was in place at that time — and it has evolved organically. It arose first in the context of wage restraint, industrial harmony and the need to sell a positive image of Ireland but it has evolved and brought in the community and voluntary sectors, non-governmental organisations and others.

The social partnership model has a valuable contribution to make in terms of the way we plan for the future. One of Ireland's main selling points in recent years, not only in terms of low taxation as referred to by Senator O'Malley and others, is the fact that we have industrial harmony. That is an important factor which people should acknowledge. We have a Labour Relations Commission, a Labour Court and the National Implementation Body to ensure that if disputes arise they do not fester and result in full-scale strikes. That is something of which the social partnership model should be proud in terms of what it has achieved in the context of industrial harmony. I am aware pressure points exist but we must deal with them as they arise. In that regard I ask employers and unions to consider what we have achieved in that context. In addition to low taxation, investment in education, infrastructure and so on, the most fundamental aspect is employment harmony which has helped sell this country abroad.

Regarding the opportunities available in the entire globalised market, we have made choices as a society and that is reflected in the way people have voted. They now accept that low taxation, in terms of employment taxation and corporation tax, is an accepted practice. They have also made the choice to have high wages and we want to become a knowledge-based society. Those issues have been discussed in social partnership and endorsed by the public in numerous elections. We cannot be complacent, however. I was in Hong Kong recently where we were given statistics on what is being achieved in China. Globalisation has benefited that country enormously. Some countries, particularly those in the African continent, have struggled to deal with globalisation but others have embraced it and become very successful. We may not always agree with their political philosophies and the way they deal with certain aspects of human rights but the way they have taken on the challenges of globalisation has been very effective. I went to Hong Kong in the knowledge that Ireland was a successful economy that had achieved a great deal but if we sit back even for a moment in the context of where we want to go in the future, we will be lost.